The united determination of the don this week around the third anniversary of interaland. It also dramatically exposes the rior-the bulletin issued to British IMPROVE The police are polishing up their equipment to deal with opponents of the National Front at Speakers Corner this Saturday: Meanwhile, Lord Justice Scarman is looking into their last performance - at Red Lion Square. His Tribunal opened in LonThe IMG, along with Liberation and Warwick Students Union, is represented at the Tribunal by coun sel. Why are we doing this?
We don't have any illusions about the Tribunal. When Jenkins first announced it, the police eagerly grabbed the chance to try to wash Kevin Gately's blood off their hands.
The Home Office don't just want to help the cops out of trouble. They see Red Lion Square as a pretext for strengthening police powers over ail demonstrations and mass pickets I called by the labour movement.
Equally unfortunate was the way in which this slogan for unspecilied withdrawal was foisted on the The chairman, supported by members of the BPC, and the TOM refused to put the issue to the vote This was done, despite the fact that almost all of the organisations present. wanted Troops Out Now to be A strong movement car only be built through the greatest democracy In the movement. It shoulit be a principle of all such ad hoe committees that the forces which support the committee should be the ones which decide its policy. The forces which involve Themscies must be sure that they have a say in the course and overall development of what they We must, despite our disagreements with the attitudes of the BPC and TOM, understand that the main issue is to combat British imperialEvery effort musc tberefore he made to get representatives from London-based and national trade union and student bodies to attend the next ad hoc committee meeting on Monday 9 September. Wide sponsorship is needed for the demonscration and peopic sbould now start setting up ad boc mobilisMeeting 9 September, Friends International Centre, Malet St., WCE.
Possible recommendations range from allowing the pulice to ban demonstrations without the consent of the Home Secretary, to making it a criminal offence not to informn lle cops in advance of demos. Ideas of better training and issuing riot oquip ment-including weapons -to the police are being floated. These would be further steps on the road to the strong stute. The blame would be placed on the revolutionary lett rather than on the needs of capital to strengthen its state machine Martin Webster of the National Front will be there too. He will be protesting the 'respectability of his fascist mob, the better to demand more law and order from the come and judges.
The general line of everybody from Webster to Fleet Street will be that the cops need bigger boots and truncbeons, and the Judges longer wigs, to defend democracy. This is pure sham. The threats to the liberties of the working class conse precisely from these same cops und judges. Look at Shrewsbury. Look at the Special Patrol Groups, the joint army-police manoeuvres, and the bavate acres and cook arteR way the cops allowed fascists to drum their way through London!
We don't expect to persuade His Lordship against giving the Home Office what it wants. Nor are we there to help Roy Jenkins to 'assess the facts", As well as denying Web ster a free political hand, we are there to expose the political opera tion which this Tribunal represents. - By being inside the bels more can raise the alarm bells nore effectively Monday's inaugural meeting to set up a Socicty to Protect the Unborn Child - SPUC - branch in Brixton ended in a shambles.
Oppositionists, including IMG members, persistently heckled and harangued the speakers Brixton is exidently considered to be fruitful ground for SPUC. This is why SPUC sent along two of its major figures, Phyllis Bowman and Nicholas Fogg, a kilowa extreme right winger. Fogg's spouting of the crudes! anti-abortion propaganda would have impressed even Goebbel The Chair repeatedly refused to allow contributions from opposition ists on the floor, and the speakers deliherately ignured direct question which atteripted to expose SPUCS position and its deeper implications Phyllis Bowman crimed to have greal concern about the rights of Jews and Blacks; and by an unbelier able stretch of logic she placed the rights of the foetus (which she repeatedly referred to as the tiny baby") on a par with oppressed miDority groups, She dhsmissed the fact that women should have any right to choose The uproar beightened and the chairman, realising the possibuity of physical fighting was not ruled ont, was forced to abandon the meeting INGAID FALCONER
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RAL JENNINGS OUT